| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Retirement Plans Edition |  |
October 4, 2001 - 12,199 subscribers
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(Help BenefitsLink to provide this newsletter at no charge to you -- our sponsors pay our way. Remember to visit them periodically; we try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Modified Boehner Investment Advice Bill Heads for Full Senate Vote
Excerpt: " The full House Education & the Workforce Committee approved the Retirement Security Act (H.R. 2269) yesterday, incorporating several new suggestions from committee members and the Department of Labor. The bill, sponsored by Committee Chairman John Boehner (R-Ohio), would provide a limited exemption from ERISA's prohibited transaction rules to allow retirement plan participants to receive investment advice from investment management firms." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
IRS Regulations Make 401(k) Plan Mergers a More Attractive Alternative
Excerpt: "[T]he IRS issued regulations on September 6 [2000] that permit employers to eliminate all extended payment options, including installments and annuities, offered under non-pension defined contribution plans such as 401(k) plans and profit-sharing plans ... [Such plans] can eliminate all extended payment options if a lump-sum distribution remains available under the plan on the same terms as the eliminated payment options." (Pillsbury Winthrop LLP)
Changes to Earnings Assumption Concern Some Milwaukee County Employees
Excerpt: "The Pension Board voted 4-3 last month for accounting changes that assume an investment return of 9% instead of 8.5% and an amortization schedule of 20 years instead of 35 years." (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
Another Question is Answered in the Correcting Plan Defects Q&A Column
SCP requires, as a condition of eligibility, that the plan sponsor have established practices and procedures reasonably designed to promote and facilitate overall compliance with applicable Internal Revenue Code requirements. Must the established practices and procedures be formal, written practices and procedures specifically related to the qualification failure being self-corrected? (BenefitsLink.com)
New Online Tool Helps Participants Determine "Overlap" in Investment Selections
Excerpt: "Launched on the Web in early August, the Overlap tool is based on a CD-ROM program that's been available to financial planners and brokers since 1996. It examines mutual funds, brokerage accounts and annuities to calculate the percentage of overlap for individual stocks and industry sectors among the selected investments." (BenefitNews.com)
What To Do With Your 401(k) Funds When You Leave Your Job
Designed for use by plan sponsors as communications material for plan participants. Reprints and web licensing of the content is available from PLANSPONSOR.com. (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Pittsburgh OKs Millions to Boost Pensions
Excerpt: "In an abrupt turnaround, the Murphy administration agreed yesterday to spend $3 million annually to enhance pensions for retiring city employees. A bill introduced unexpectedly to City Council would erase cuts that many retired city employees face when they turn 65 and their pension payments are decreased by an amount equal to 50 percent of their Social Security benefits. Starting next year, that 'Social Security offset' provision would be erased for retiring nonunion personnel." (The [Pittsburgh] Post-Gazette)
Should You Reallocate Your Investments Now?
Excerpt: "Investors who switched from stock funds to balanced funds after the 73-74 crash gave up a major opportunity--- that's what trades inside four major fund families show." (Scott Burns of The Dallas Morning News)
Survey: Household Ownership of Mutual Funds in 2001 (PDF)
Excerpt: "The estimated number of U.S. households owning mutual funds rose to 54.8 million in May 2001 from a revised 51.7 million one year earlier." (Investment Company Institute)
Benefits for the Workplace of the Future (PDF)
Working paper by Olivia S. Mitchell dated September of 2001. (Pension Research Council)
The Demographics of Tomorrow's Workplace (PDF)
Working paper by Martha Farnsworth Riche dated September 14, 2001. (Pension Research Council)
Joint Board for Enrollment of Actuaries Extends Deadlines for CPE, Enrollment
Excerpt: "Many enrolled actuaries work in the New York metropolitan area and their lives have been disrupted in this time of national emergency.... These disruptions may well prevent a number of enrolled actuaries from completing their continuing professional education credits by December 31, 2001. the Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries is extending the dates for both Continuing Professional Education and submitting the Application for Renewal of Enrollment." (American Society of Pension Actuaries)
International Accounting Standards Board Reopens Controversial Stock Option Accounting Project (PDF)
Excerpt: "The IASB announced on September 20 its intent to develop a new global accounting standard for employee stock options and other equity-based grants." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)
FAQs for Reservists Being Called to Active Duty Related to their Pension and Health Benefits
Excerpt: "The following Questions and Answers are intended to provide answers to the most frequently asked questions by National Guard and reserve members related to both health benefits issues and pension/retirement savings issues." (U.S. Department of Labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration)
FAQs for Participants and Beneficiaries Related to the Events of September 11th
Excerpt: "Many workers who were impacted by the terrorist attacks on September 11th have questions about the status and security of their employer provided health and pension benefits and retirement savings. The following Questions and Answers are intended to provide answers to the most frequently asked questions by participants and beneficiaries ..." (U.S. Department of Labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration)
2001 Executive Benefits Survey of Current Trends
62 pages. Excerpt: "NQDC plan prevalence is holding at 86%, the same as the last two years. Plan prevalence has increased in financial institutions, now at 87% vs. 85% last year and 78% in 1999. SERPs are showing a consistently high prevalence of 75% in 2001, the same as last year." (Clark/Bardes Consulting Compensation Resource Group; free registration required)
FAQs for Plan Sponsors Related to Filing Relief
Excerpt: "The U. S. Department of Labor's Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (Agencies) have extended the deadline for filing the Form 5500s and Form 5500-EZs as a result of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The following Questions and Answers are intended to provide general information and do not carry the force of legal opinion." (U.S. Department of Labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration)
FAQs for Plan Sponsors, Fiduciaries and Service Providers Related to the Events of September 11th
Excerpt: "Many employee benefit plans, plan fiduciaries, employers, labor organizations, service providers, and others will encounter a wide variety of plan-related compliance and operational issues and concerns over the next few months as the practical and personal implications of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 unfold." (U.S. Department of Labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration)
Patriotism Swells Compensation for Reservists
Excerpt: "Some employers are going above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to providing military leave for reservists and National Guard members. A swell of patriotism has [Minneapolis/St. Paul area] companies such as Brightpoint and Delta Faucet Co. making up the difference between a worker's military pay and civilian wages for at least the first six months of active duty." (StarTribune.com via IFEBP)
Survey Results: Employer Response to Call-Up of Reservist Employees and related HR Issues
Excerpt: "As the United States prepares to activate thousands of military reservists in response to the attacks of September 11, 2001, employers are making decisions on how to handle compensation and medical benefits for affected employees and their families. This survey collected data on how employers are handling these and related issues. 51 employers representing a total of approximately 500,000 full-time employees responded to the survey." (Watson Wyatt)
Another Question is Answered in the Stock Options, Restricted Stock and Other Long-Term Employment Incentives Q&A Column
My husband's company allowed him to retire his stock options for the same number of options to be reissued at new stock price three months in the future. Unfortunately his job was consolidated and eliminated. Is this allowable? At the time he retired his options he did not know that his job was being phased-out. (BenefitsLink.com)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
| Retirement Administrator | for Delaware Investments in PA |
| DB Plan Administrator | for Retirement System Group in NY |
| Pension Plan Administrator, or Actuary | for Retirement Plan Administration Firm Handling All Aspects of Administration in PA |
| Employee Benefits Attorney | for Hanson, Bridgett, Marcus, Vlahos & Rudy, LLP in CA |
| 1st Class Benefits Consulting Opportunity | for Actuarial, Benefits and Compensation Consulting Firm in ALL STATES |
Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!)
| The 2002 Executive Compensation and Benefits Seminar: An Examination of Non-Cash Plans, Benefits, and Special Arrangements | in NY on January 22, 2002 presented by The Conference Board and Clark Bardes Consulting |
| Plan Sponsors' Solution Forum | in NV on November 15, 2001 presented by PSCA |
| EGTRRA '01 Intermediary Summit | in NV on November 15, 2001 presented by PSCA |
| PenServ 2001 Fall Seminar Series | in TX on October 9, 2001 presented by PenServ Inc. |
| PenServ 2001 Fall Seminar Series | in TX on October 23, 2001 presented by PenServ Inc. |
| PenServ 2001 Fall Seminar Series | in NY on November 28, 2001 presented by PenServ Inc. |
Newly Posted Press Releases
| ACLI APPLAUDS PASSAGE BY HOUSE EDUCATION & THE WORKFORCE COMMITTEE OF INVESTMENT ADVISOR LEGISLATION (American Council of Life Insurers) |
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Copyright 2001 BenefitsLink.com, Inc., but you may freely distribute this email newsletter in whole. This newsletter is edited by David Rhett Baker, J.D.
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